DR. WILLIAM MAYER (biography)

DR. WILLIAM MAYER

William Mayer, M.D. was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health
Affairs on November 18, 1983.

He joined the Department of Defense from his previous position of Administrator,
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Other earlier positions
included: Director of the California State Department of Health, Medical Director of
the San Diego (California) County Department of Health Services; Chief of the U.S.
Army Europe Alcoholism Treatment Facility in Stuttgart, Germany; Associate Clinical
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine;
Associate Chief of Staff at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach,
California; and a variety of positions with state and local health departments in
California. i

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From 1952 to 1958, Dr. Mayer served with the U.S. Army. Among his various
positions, he served as a psychiatrist with the special Medical Intelligence Study of
Korea Prisoners of War; .Consultant in Neurology and Psychiatry for the Communications
Zone, Europe; and Chief of Professional Services in the Office of the Surgeon for the
U.S. Continental Army Command.

Dr. Mayer served with the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1952 as Chief of Psychiatry at
the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan and then with U.S. Hospital Ship REPOSE.
He also served as Medical Battalion Executive Officer and Commanding Officer for C, D,
and E Medical Companies of the First Marine Division during combat in Korea.

Dr. Mayer earned his B.S. from Northwestern University in 1943 and his M.D. from
Northwestern University Medical School in 1947. He served his internship at the U.S.
Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, with residencies at the U.S. Public Health Service
Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, at the
University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. He has completed a number
of military medical training courses, including training in aerospace medicine and
chemical and bacteriological warfare, the Army Medical Officers Advanced Course and
Flight Surgeon Course, and he is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff
College.

Among his numerous awards, he hold a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army and a Bronze
Star with Combat "V" from the U.S. Marine Corps. He has received the Gold Medal for
Leadership from the National Management Association, as well as Resolutions of
Commendation from the Georgia and Texas legislatures. Dr. Mayer has also received the
National Award from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

Dr. Mayer has published articles in Yale Scientific Review, U.S. News and World
Report, Kentucky State Teachers Association Journal, and other publications.

Dr. Mayer has held teaching positions at Northwestern University Medical School
(Anatomy), University of Texas in San Antonio (Psychiatry, Psychology, and Public
Health), University of California Medical School in San Francisco (Psychiatry), the
Medical Field Service School at the Brooke Army Medical Center, and other
institutions. He has been a guest lecturer and visiting professor at the U.S.
Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Pre-Flight School, Georgetown University, Harvard
University, U.S. Army Intelligence Center, Louisiana State University, and the
Universities of Florida, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Alabama, and Washington, among others.

Dr. Mayer was born on September 24, 1923. He is married and has four children.